Avram Davidson
Personal Information
Description
Avram Davidson was born in Yonkers, New York. He was educated in public schools, then studied anthropology at New York University before joining the U.S. Navy in 1942. He served as a hospital corpsman (medic), first with the Naval Air Corps, and then with the Fifth Marines. After the war, he travelled in England, Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean before returning the the U.S. to resume his education. He continued his education at several schools, but never earned a degree. In 1950 he returned to the U.S. to study at an agricultural school, then went to Israel to become a shepherd. He returned to New York City shortly after and began his writing career as a Talmudic scholar, publishing short stories and several essays in Orthodox Jewish Life beginning in 1949 and in Commentary beginning in 1952, under the name A. A. Davidson. He was very active in the Orthodox Jewish community in New York City during this period. His first published science fiction story, "My Boy Friend's Name is Jello," appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1954. In 1961 he met Grania Kaiman, and they were married in early 1962, and had a son in November 1962. He became editor of Fantasy & Science Fiction from 1962-1965. In 1963 he and his family moved to Milford, Pennsylvania, but had several disagreements with their landlord which resulted in them being evicted, so they moved to Amecameca, Mexico. In June 1964, Grania moved back to California, while Avram stayed in Mexico with their son. In 1965, he relocated to British Honduras (now Belize), then to California in 1970, where he began to study and then converted to Tenrikyo, a panentheist Japanese New Religion. In 1971 he moved to Sausalito, California, close to San Francisco. In his later years, he lived in Bremerton, Washington, where he died in 1993, aged 70. Over the course of his writing career, he wrote 20 novels and collaborated on several more, but he was best known for his short science fiction stories. He was recognized with a Hugo Award, a World Fantasy Award (including the prestigious Life Achievement Award), and an Edgar Award. He was survived by his his ex-wife Grania Davis, who continues to edit and release his unpublished works.
Books
The Fantasy Hall of Fame [30 stories]
Trouble with water / H.L. Gold -- Nothing in the rules / L. Sprague de Camp -- Fruit of knowledge / C.L. Moore -- Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius / Jorge Luis Borges -- Compleat werewolf / Anthony Boucher -- Small assassin / Ray Bradbury -- [Lottery]( / Shirley Jackson -- Our fair city / Robert A. Heinlein -- There shall be no darkness / James Blish -- Loom of darkness / Jack Vance -- Man who sold rope to the gnoles / Margaret St. Clair -- Silken-swift / Theodore Sturgeon -- Golem / Avram Davidson -- Operation afreet / Poul Anderson -- That hell-bound train / Robert Bloch -- Bazaar of the bizarre / Fritz Leiber -- Come lady death / Peter S. Beagle -- Drowned giant / J.G. Ballard -- Narrow valley / R.A. Lafferty -- Faith of our fathers / Philip K. Dick -- Ghost of a Model T / Clifford D. Simak -- Demoness / Tanith Lee -- Jeffty is five / Harlan Ellison -- Detective of dreams / Gene Wolfe -- Unicorn variations / Roger Zelazny -- Basileus / Robert Silverberg -- Jaguar Hunter / Lucius Shepard -- Buffalo gals, won't you come out tonight / Ursula K. Le Guin -- Bears discover fire / Terry Bisson -- Tower of Babylon / Ted Chiang.
The Investigations of Avram Davidson
Like Bernard Malamud and Shirley Jackson, Avram Davidson brought a unique brand of charm, wit, and intrigue to the short-story form. His widow, author Grania Davis, and his longtime friend and admirer, noted mystery author Richard A. Lupoff, have compiled and introduced this loving tribute. Collected here for the first time are Davidson's remarkable mystery tales, including: The 1840s murder investigations of New York's chief constable, Jacob Hays A sinister lesson in New England thrift A bride who disappears on her wedding day A slavetrader and a deal gone terribly wrong Treachery in a nursing home A greedy antiquarian repents his ways Expatriates who will kill for a little peace and quiet And much ado about an exiled earl, Albanian Trotskyites, the Mafia, New Amsterdam river pirates, and the aspiring hooligans known as the Nafia (who "control all the gumball and India nut machines south of Vesey Street") Davidson's unparalleled crime stories will thrill you like no other. This book is your invitation to explore the imagination of a rare talent.
The Avram Davidson Treasury
Avram Davidson was one of the great original American writers of this century. He was literate, erudite, cranky, Jewish, wildly creative, and sold most of his short stories to genre pulp magazines. They were wonderful. Here are thirty-eight of the best: all the award-winners and nominees and best-of honored stories, with introductions by such notable authors as Ursula K. Le Guin, William Gibson, Peter S. Beagle,Thomas M. Disch, Gene Wolfe, Poul Anderson, Guy Davenport, Gregory Benford, Alan Dean Foster, and dozens of others, plus introductions and afterwords by Grania Davis, Robert Silverberg, Harlan Ellison, and Ray Bradbury. The stories span a period of thirty years, from ebullient 1950s tales like "The Golem" and the seminally weird "Or All the Seas with Oysters," through classics like "The Sources of the Nile" and "The House the Blakeneys Built," to the magic realism of "Manatee Gal, Won't You Come Out Tonight," and the mystery and simplicity of "Naples" and "The Slovo Stove." For those already acquainted with Avram Davidson's work, this book is a joy; for those who have the pleasure of encountering his work for the first time, it is a voyage of discovery.
Great Tales of Crime and Detection
Out the window / Lawrence Block Major crimes / Loren D. Estleman Silent warning / William J. Carroll, Jr. The third man / Graham Greene The cross of Lorraine / Isaac Asimov Nameless enemy / Miriam Allen DeFord Tragedy of a handkerchief / Michael Innes Unc foils show foe / John Jakes Dangerous widows / Mignon G. Eberhart Ride the lightning / John Lutz Till Tuesday / Jeremiah Healy The day of the losers / Dick Francis The case of the Pietro Andromache / Sara Paretsky Susu and the 8:30 ghost / Lillian Jackson Braun The investigation of things / Charles Ardai The trailor murder mystery / Abraham Lincoln The importance of trifles / Avram Davidson The double-barrelled detective story / Mark Twain The adventure of the oval window / John H. Dirckx Your appointment is cancelled / Antonia Fraser Le Chateau de L'Arsenic / Georges Simenon The nine mile walk / Harry Kemelman Crime in rhyme / Robert Bloch [The Purloined Letter]( / Edgar Allan Poe [The man with the twisted lip]( / Arthur Conan Doyle
Masterpieces of Fantasy and Wonder
A rich & varied collection of the best short fantasy fiction of the last two centuries. Escape into the fantastic worlds of Charles Dickens, J.M. Barrie, Graham Greene, Harlan Ellison, and others found in these 38 magical tales.
Adventures in Unhistory
Information is from: newfirstsearch.oclc.org Adventures in unhistory : conjectures on the factual foundations of several ancient legends Author(s): Davidson, Avram. Publication: New York : Tor, Edition: 1st Tor ed. Year: 2006 Description: xi, 308 pages: illustrations; 22 cm. Language: English. Contents: Where did Sindbad sail? -- Who fired the phoenix? -- An abundance of dragons -- Who makes the mandrakes -- The boy who cried werewolf -- The great rough beast -- Postscript on Prester John -- The theft of the mulberry tree -- The secret of Hyperborea -- Heads I win, tails you lose -- The spoor of the unicorn -- What gave all those mammoths cold feet? -- Bird thou wert, but art no more -- The moon -- The prevalence of mermaids. Standard No: ISBN: 076530760X ; 9780765307606 LCCN: 2006-48179 Abstract: Explores the foundations of fifteen legends involving the voyages of Sinbad, dragons, mermaids, the moon, and various other subjects
Curses
Contents: Introduction: Malevolence - essay by Isaac Asimov The Curse - shortstory by Arthur C. Clarke Julia Cahill's Curse - shortstory by George Moore The Red Swimmer - novelette by Robert Bloch The Doom of the Griffiths - novelette by Mrs. Gaskell [as by Elizabeth Gaskell ] You Know Willie - shortstory by Theodore R. Cogswell Trouble with Water - shortstory by H. L. Gold [as by Horace L. Gold ] Mad Monkton - novella by Wilkie Collins Long Chromachy of the Crows - shortstory by Seumas MacManus The Little Black Train - shortstory by Manly Wade Wellman The Curse of the Catafalques - novelette by F. Anstey A Séance in Summer - shortstory by Thomas F. Monteleone [as by Mario Martin, Jr. ] Transformations - shortstory by Christopher Fahy In Dark New England Days - shortstory by Sarah Orne Jewett The Messenger - novelette by Robert W. Chambers Or the Grasses Grow - shortstory by Avram Davidson The Dollar - shortstory by Morgan Robertson A Hunger in the Blood - novelette by Talmage Powell